1. Field of the Invention.
This invention relates to a hand-controlled puppet, and more particularly, to a hand-controlled animated puppet which is adapted to be manipulated by a user by withdrawing the head and bilaminar covering forming a puppet body into the interior of a conical-shaped support member, such as a cone, into a closed position and to transport the head and bilaminar covering out of the cone into an open position and to cause movement of the arms and body relative to the head and cone by moving and rotating an elongated rod clockwise and counterclockwise to simulate lifelike movement of the puppet.
In addition, a method for assembling a hand-controlled animated puppet, is disclosed herein.
2. It is known in the prior art to form a manipulatory puppet comprising a conical-shaped member, a unitary piece of fabric having a symmetrical shape in the back and front and opposed arms extending therefrom and an elongated rod affixed to a simulated head wherein the puppet head can be turned around its axis once or even several times in any position and the complete turning of the head is accomplished without any simultaneous turning of or movement of the arms. Such a manipulatory puppet is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,471,966.
The use of a support member and elongated rod having a head affixed thereto to simulate movement of the head on the exterior of the support, are known in the art. Typical examples of such puppets and dolls are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,698,127 and 2,429,928.
Other known hand-controlled puppets are fabricated to slip over the hand of a user and permit the user's fingers to be inserted into the puppet's arms such that finger movement causes the arms of the puppet to be moved to animate the puppet.
The present invention discloses a unique and novel hand-controlled puppet which comprises a conical-shaped support member which is held in the hand of a user and an animated puppet which is formed of a simulated head attached to the end of an elongated rod and a unique and novel bilaminar covering having a back and front which defines a pair of opposing arms. The extended rod and head are affixed to an extended portion of the back of the bilaminar covering and to the interior of the back and front of the bilaminar covering to simulate a backbone. Rotation of the elongated rod in either a clockwise or counterclockwise direction rotates the top, front and back portions of the bilaminar covering relative to the fixed portion of the bilaminar covering attached to the base of the conical-shaped support member to cause relative rotation therebetween which moves the arms in an upward and downward position. The puppet can be rotated to cause movements of the arms simultaneously with rotation of the head. The puppet can be moved into a closed position by pulling the head into the interior of the conical-shaped support member.
The hand-controlled animated puppet can be formed to represent a number of figures such as, for example, bears, mice, ducks or the like. The fabrication of the hand-controlled puppet can use a wide variety of materials, shapes and forms as the bilaminar covering including materials which have a fur-like exterior or a smooth exterior. The use of the hand-controlled puppet provides children and adults with a unique and novel play toy wherein the puppet simulates lifelike movement of the head and arms which can be produced by movements and rotation of the rod either clockwise or counterclockwise and positioning the elongated rod in any number of different and vertical positions to obtain different types of movements and gestures.
The unique and novel hand-controlled puppet of the present invention differs substantially over the known prior art devices. The known prior art devices permit movement, turning or rotation of the head relative to a rigid support member which forms the body of a puppet, or a fabric material which forms the body, without simultaneous movement of the arms. In the known prior art hand-controlled puppets, where a user's fingers are inserted into the arms, the user must have sufficient finger dexterity or control to move the arms of the puppet.
The present invention permits rotation of the head and simultaneous turning and movement of the arms relative to the head such that animated movement of the puppet occurs. The primary difference of the present invention and the known prior art devices resides in the attachment of the top portion of a bilaminar covering to the back of the head and the attachment of the interior of the back and front of the bilaminar covering to the elongated rod to form a simulated backbone and in the relative rotation which occurs between the bottom of the bilaminar covering attached to the conical-shaped support member and the top attached to the head and elongated rod assembly which move the opposed extending arms simultaneously with limited rotation of the elongated rod.
One advantage of the present invention is that the hand-controlled puppet can be completely withdrawn into the interior of the conical-shaped support member, and, in the preferred embodiment, a hat member serves as a cover therefor.
Another advantage of the present invention is that the puppet can be held in one hand of a user and the other hand can be used for movement of the elongated rod in the vertical direction and/or in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction to produce an animated movement of the puppet wherein extended opposing arms are moved relative to the head and base in a life-like movement.
Yet another advantage of the present invention is that the puppet can be transported out of the cone and into view in an open position by moving the elongated rod in a vertical direction and movement of the arms can be simultaneously obtained by rotating the rod.
A further advantage of the present invention is that the degree of rotation of the puppet is limited by the physical relationship of the assembled puppet in a manner to produce animated movement of the puppet during a limited amount of rotation of the head by the elongated rod.
A still further advantage of the present invention is that the puppet, when in a closed position, has the entire bilaminar covering and head contained within the hollowed-out central area of the conical-shaped support member and has a top which is affixed to the head, positioned over the opening in the base to show a completely closed puppet. The puppet is opened by transporting the head and bilaminar fabric from the interior of the conical-shaped support member into a position where the head and bilaminar covering are extended therefrom and the top affixed to the head is moved away from the base.
Yet a still further advantage of the present invention is that the conical-shaped support member can be formed of a cloth material such that the cone is pliable and can be easily shipped without breaking.